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Glite Dictionary
😱 Very suspenseful 🏞️ At cliff edge ⏳ A suspense moment
cliffhanging

cliffhanging

5.5
Causing strong suspense by leaving the result unknown
  • adjective
  • /ˈklɪfˌhæŋɪŋ/
translation icon : suspense
  • The final episode ended with a cliffhanging scene that left viewers desperate for answers.

Examples

  • She loves reading cliffhanging thrillers that keep her guessing until the last page.

  • The competition was so cliffhanging that no one could predict who would win until the very end.

  • What a cliffhanging moment!

  • That was a cliffhanging episode!

  • The latest novel had a cliffhanging ending that made readers eager for a sequel.

  • The basketball game was cliffhanging, with the score tied in the final seconds.

  • After the cliffhanging finale, fans couldn't stop discussing the unresolved plot twists.

Synonyms

suspenseful
vscliffhanging
17 4.8

Making you feel nervous and unsure about what will happen

focuses on intense excitement by leaving the result unresolved
cliff-hanging
vscliffhanging
6.3

Makes people feel excited and nervous because the result is unknown until the last moment

is intense suspense caused by leaving the ending unresolved
suspensive
vscliffhanging
  • Literature
8.1

Making people feel uncertain and wait to see what happens

is stronger and adds intense excitement with an unresolved outcome

Antonyms

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

resolution
199 3.7

Solving a problem or ending a disagreement

How Suspenseful

nail-biting
  • Informal
3 4.2
cliffhanging
5.5
suspenseful
17 4.8
tense
310 3.6

Surface Forms

cliffhanging positive

Morphology

cliffhanging = cliff + hanging (opaque) = cliff + hang + ing

The modern suspense meaning is historically motivated by the image of someone hanging from a cliff, but that image is no longer compositionally predictive.

Etymology

Cliffhanging comes from the image of someone hanging off a cliff in old adventure stories. That picture makes the audience very eager to know what happens next, so the word means 'causing intense suspense'.